If I get up and sing, I acknowledge I am trying to entertain them, so they are in the driving seat.

If I want things my way, I could always sing to the plants at home.

Yeah, it is a bit of a bummer playing a complicated jig on a mandolin and the clapping in time drowning out the sound, but if they wanted to hear the tune, they wouldn't clap. Hence, their enjoyment is providing a clapping sound, not the technical merit of a jig.

their night, not mine.

An interesting analogy being when I was a t school, the music teacher gave us a score to follow whilst he played the piece on a record player, we had to follow the score with our finger. If we were not on the correct bit when he came walking round, we were in trouble.

Took me years to start actually appreciating Mozart and Beethoven. Not until I could appreciate them on my terms.

Hence, I always accept I am only providing entertainment on my audience's terms, not my own.